COVID-19: Delhi logs 325 fresh cases, zero fatality

New Delhi, Apr 14 (PTI) Delhi reported 325 fresh COVID-19 cases with a positivity rate of 2.39 per cent on Thursday, with the city government issuing a fresh advisory to schools after a few students tested positive for the infection.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia said the number of cases might have increased but the hospitalisation rate is low.

The Covid positivity rate in the national capital has jumped from 0.5 per cent to 2.7 per cent in a week, even as doctors on Tuesday said it was "not a panic situation" as the count of daily cases was still low, but cautioned against dropping the guard.

The daily spike of 325 cases saw a marked rise from 137 cases reported on Monday, according to the health department. It also registered a 8.69-per cent jump from the previous day.

Delhi reported 299 new Covid cases on Wednesday, a 118-per cent jump from Monday's count, while the positivity rate was 2.49 per cent.

The health department did not issue a bulletin on Tuesday.

On Monday, the positivity rate was 2.7 per cent -- the highest in two months. It was 2.87 per cent on February 5.

With an uptick in daily cases and a significant rise in the positivity rate over the last few days, the Delhi government issued a fresh advisory to schools, directing them to temporarily close the entire premises or specific wings if any student or staff tests positive for Covid.

The Directorate of Education (DoE) said the students and staff must wear face masks and maintain social distancing to the extent possible.

The advisory, dated April 13, came amid reports of a few students testing positive for the viral disease across the National Capital Region (NCR).

Kejriwal said the city government is keeping an eye on the Covid situation and there is no need to panic since the rate of hospitalisation is low.

Sisodia, who also holds the education portfolio, said the number of Covid cases has gone up slightly but there is no rise in the rate of hospitalisation, while asserting that there is no need to worry.

"There is no need to panic but (we have to) stay alert. We have to learn to live with Covid. We are constantly monitoring the situation," he told reporters.

The Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) will hold a meeting on April 20 to discuss measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus in the city.

Earlier this month, the DDMA decided to withdraw the fine for not wearing face masks at public places. In February, it had lifted all restrictions in the wake of a significant improvement in the Covid situation in the city.

Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Monday said the city government is keeping an eye on the Covid situation and there is no reason to worry until a new variant of concern of the virus is detected.

Delhi's COVID-19 tally and the death toll due to the disease stood at 18,67,206 and 26,158 respectively on Thursday, according to the latest health bulletin.

The national capital had reported 141 cases and one death due to the disease on Sunday, while the positivity rate was 1.29 per cent.

It saw 160 Covid cases with a positivity rate of 1.55 per cent on Saturday.

On Friday, the city had reported 146 cases with a positivity rate of 1.39 per cent and one death.

The number of daily Covid cases in Delhi had touched the record high of 28,867 on January 13, during the third wave of the pandemic.

The city had recorded a positivity rate of 30.6 per cent on January 14, the highest during the third wave of the pandemic, which was largely driven by the highly transmissible Omicron variant of the coronavirus.

A total of 574 Covid patients are in home isolation, a marked rise from 504 the previous day, the bulletin stated.

There are 9,745 beds for Covid patients in Delhi's hospitals and 48 (0.49 per cent) of those are occupied, it added.

The number of active cases of the infection stands at 915, while the number of containment zones is 700. PTI SLB RC